In the past few years, some regional volunteer fire departments have turned to paying for emergency personnel to man their fire halls during the day when it’s tough to staff with volunteers. Jim Pyle, Deputy Chief of McKean Hose Company, told Joel Natalie on TalkErie.com that it was mission critical, when the department sought paid help employed by a fellow volunteer fire company, West Ridge Fire Department.
“Can McKean lease two IRT members, which stands for Incident Response Team, for Monday through Friday, we currently do it from 7 AM to 5 PM. I can tell you, that that team that we have had has saved lives within our borough, without a question,” Pyle said.
The supplemental paid first responders help ensure faster response times in cases of medical or fire emergencies.
